Republican states are trying to use federal covid aid to cut taxes

[dalton99a]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2022/07/05/republicans-tax-cuts-stimulus/
https://archive.ph/L9WKA

Republican states are trying to use federal covid aid to cut taxes
In Florida and elsewhere, GOP leaders have sued to tap pandemic funds for tax cuts, defying the Biden administration
By Tony Romm
July 5, 2022 at 6:00 a.m. EDT

As gas prices climbed toward record highs this May, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) secured a pause on the state’s fuel taxes — a $200 million plan he helped pay for with a pot of federal funds awarded earlier in the pandemic.

The policy was intended to save money for local drivers and state coffers alike. But it also appeared to mark a potential violation of federal law — and the latest skirmish in an escalating clash between GOP officials and the White House over how states can use generous federal stimulus dollars.

More than a year after Congress approved a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package, Republicans in nearly two dozen states have ratcheted up efforts to tap some of those funds for an unrelated purpose: paying for tax cuts. The moves have threatened to siphon off aid that might otherwise help states fight the pandemic, shore up their local economies or prepare for a potential recession.

The intensifying Republican campaign targets one of the signature programs Democrats approved as part of President Biden’s American Rescue Plan last year. At the urging of the nation’s mayors and governors, Congress delivered what largely amounted to a blank check for every city and state to bolster their budgets.

Congress ultimately laid down few conditions for how local leaders could use the pot of money, which totaled $350 billion nationally. But they were clear about one thing: The federal government would not subsidize state tax cuts. Lawmakers led by Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) said at the time that Washington should not be on the hook to pay for reductions in state tax revenues, since that could leave major budget holes once federal aid ran dry.

[jimfields33]

1. California is giving a thousand dollars per person

I’d rather see states do this. Money into pockets immediately rather then months from now through tax cuts.

[doc03]

2. Governor Justice of West Virginia announced the

largest budget surplus ever in WV last week, I think $1.6 billion?

[Lovie777]

3. And yet WV is one of the poorest states in the Union . . .....

Air quality will be the worst, and miners will suffer and die of the poison going into the air from the coal mines. Mississippi has a methane problem which is going into their atmosphere and yet they want to cut taxes with no concerns on the cost of their contingency health and well being.